Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

Courtesy of ASUS

The X99-A II motherboard is among the latest boards from ASUS, updating their existing product line with many new features including RGB LEDs and USB 3.1 support. The board supports all Intel LGA2011-3 based processors, including the new Broadwell-E processor, paired with DDR4 memory in up to a quad channel configuration. The ASUS-A II can be found in retail at an MSRP of $249, a virtual steal for the features and performance offered by this board.

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

Courtesy of ASUS

The Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard is the latest revision of ASUS' award winning Rampage V board, bring a new level of awesome of the ROG (Republic of Gamers) product line. The board features a fully enclosed rear panel, armor plating covering the lower half of the board back, upgraded audio components, and integrated RGB LEDs throughout the board's surface. The board supports all Intel LGA2011-3 based processors paired with DDR4 memory in up to a quad channel configuration via its Intel X99 chipset. The Rampage V Edition 10 comes with a hefty MSRP of $599.99, in-line with other high-end Intel X99-based offering but in the higher tier of components nonetheless.

To better protect the critical components on the back of the board PCB, ASUS integrated an armored back plate covering the lower half of the PCB's back. the backplate covers the lower DIMM slot set traces and extends to cover the chipset area on teh left side of the board.

Courtesy of ASUS

The Rampage V Edition 10 features an eight phase digital power system, providing more than enough power to the CPU for whatever you choose to throw at it. The power delivery system itself consists of Infineon PowIRStage IR3555 MOSFETs, MicroFine alloy chokes, and 10k-rated Japanese-sourced black-metallic capacitors.

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

Courtesy of ASUS

The Strix X99 Gaming motherboard is the newest product in ASUS Strix product line, bringing a more performance gaming focused board into the ROG (Republic of Gamer) sphere. The board features an armored rear panel and audio components, integrated RGB LEDs throughout the board's surface, and support for the Intel X99 chipset. The board supports all Intel LGA2011-3 based processors paired with DDR4 memory in up to a quad channel configuration. The Maximus VIII Formula can be found in the wild for an MSRP of $399, making it more expensive than most offerings but justified in light of the integrated features and design quality of the board.

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

The X99P-SLI motherboard is the newest member of their Ultra Durable board line, updated with newest technological innovations including USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3. The board supports all Intel LGA2011-3 based processors paired with DDR4 memory in up to a quad channel configuration. GIGABYTE priced the X99P-SLI at an approachable MSRP of $249.99.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Like all members of the Ultra-Durable board line, the X99P-SLI was over engineered to take whatever abuse is thrown its way, featuring an 6+4-phase digital power system with International Rectify Gen 4 digital PWM controllers and Gen 3 PowIRstage controllers, Server Level chokes, and long life Durable Black Solid capacitors. The board also features GIGABYTE's next generation PCIe x16 slots with PCIe Metal Shielding - steel reinforced overlays to provide extra vertical support for graphics cards featuring large and heavy coolers.

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

Courtesy of ASUS

The ASUS X99-M WS is an mATX version of their workstation line board for the Intel X99 chipset with enhanced support for USB 3.1-based devices. The board features full support for all Intel LGA2011-v3 processors paired with DDR4 memory operating in up to quad channel configuration. Priced at a reasonable $279.99, the X99-M WS/USB 3.1 board is priced competitively considering the feature set and performance designed into the board.

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

Courtesy of ASUS

The X99-E WS/USB 3.1 is leading board in ASUS' Workstation line for the Intel X99 chipset with enhanced support for USB 3.1-based devices. The board features full support for all Intel LGA2011-3 based processors paired with DDR4 memory operating in up to a quad channel configuration. Priced at a hefty $539.99, the X99-E WS/USB 3.1 board comes with an immense feature set to more than justify its massive price tag.

Intel's high-end desktop (HEDT) processor line will reportedly be moving from Haswell-E to Broadwell-E soon, and with the move Intel will offer their highest consumer core count to date, according to a post at XFastest which WCCFtech reported on yesterday.

Image credit: VR-Zone

While it had been thought that Broadwell-E would feature the same core counts as Haswell-E (as seen on the leaked slide above), according to the report the upcoming flagship Core i7-6950X will be a massive 10 core, 20 thread part built using Intel's 14 nm process. Broadwell-E is expected to provide an upgrade to those running on Intel's current enthusiast X99 platform before Skylake-E arrives with an all-new chipset.

WCCFtech offered this chart in their report, outlining the differences between the HEDT generations (and providing a glimpse of the future Skylake-E variant):

Intel HEDT generations compared (Credit: WCCFtech)

It isn't all that surprising that one of Intel's LGA2011-v3 processors would arrive on desktops with 10 cores as these are closely related to the Xeon server processors, and Haswell based Xeon CPUs are already available with up to 18 cores, though priced far beyond what even the extreme builder would probably find reasonable (not to mention being far less suited to a desktop build based on motherboard compatibility). The projected $999 price tag for the Extreme Edition part with 10 cores would mark not only the first time an Intel desktop processor reached the core-count milestone, but it would also mark the lowest price to attain one of the company's 10-core parts to date (Xeon or otherwise).

Killing those end of summer blues

As we approach the end of summer and the beginning of the life of Windows 10, PC Perspective and Gigabyte (along with Thermaltake and Kingston) have teamed up to bring our readers a system build guide and giveaway that is sure to get your gears turning. If you think that an X99-based system with an 8-core Intel Extreme processor, SLI graphics, 480GB SSD and 32GB of memory sounds up your alley...pay attention.

Deep in thought...

Even with the dawn of Skylake nearly upon us, there is no debate that the Haswell-E platform will continue to be the basis of the enthusiasts dream system for a long time. Lower power consumption is great, but nothing is going to top 8-cores, 16-threads and all the PCI Express lanes you could need for expansion to faster storage and accessories. With that in mind Gigabyte has partnered with PC Perspective to showcase the power of X99 and what a builder today can expect when putting together a system with a fairly high budget, but with lofty goals in mind as well.

It has been a few months since Morry's review of the Gigabyte Champion Series X99-Gaming 5P and its funky LED enhanced backplate was posted so it seems time for a second opinion from The Tech Report. The i7-5960X they used was not as forgiving as the one Morry tested, their overclocking topped out at 4.1GHz, while still decent it is a reminder that overclocking results can vary widely on similar equipment. Read their full review here for a reminder of what this board can do and see if it garnered a recommendation.

"Gigabyte's X99-Gaming 5P gives buyers a full-featured Haswell-E board with a gaming twist. We dug into its features and ran it through our testing gauntlet to figure out what makes this premium motherboard tick."

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

The X99-Gaming 5P is the latest board to be branding as part of GIGABYTE's Champion Series of motherboards with enhanced overclocking and memory support common to board's in that series. The board also features the G1 Gaming-branding, clearly targeting the gaming crowd with is red and black aesthetics. The board supports all Intel LGA2011-3 based processors paired with DDR4 memory in up to a quad channel configuration. GIGABYTE priced the X99-Gaming 5P competitively with an MSRP of $309.99.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

The X99-Gaming 5P was designed to take the abuse that enthusiast gamers put their boards through. The board features a 8+4-phase digital power system, using International Rectify Gen 4 digital PWM controllers and Gen 3 PowIRstage controllers, Server Level chokes, and long life Durable Black Solid capacitors. It also offers a superior sound solution for gaming, pairing together the Creative Sound Core3D&trade quad-core audio processor, high-end audio capacitors, and a removable OP-AMP.